Want Kids to Eat Veggies? Be Sneaky.
I am fascinated by a book scheduled for release in just a couple of weeks called The Sneaky Chef. The author, a food journalist and trained professional chef, has done time in the toughest kitchen of all: Her own, with two young children.
Not to be outdone by a 4-year-old, Missy Chase Lapin created a whole new cuisine, a sneaky cuisine, a cuisine made up of purees, juices and special baking mixes that sneak the vitamins, phytochemicals, minerals and other good stuff into the foods that kids generally do eat. Foods like brownies, french toast, ice cream and mac-n-cheese.
The idea, she explains, is to pull out the heavy machinery and make pure purees of, say, cauliflower and white beans for a white puree, or broccoli and spinach for a green one, and then whip the heck out of the stuff until it has no texture left. Then sneak it into your kids’ food.
This book contains two recipes for brownies with blueberries (purple puree) and one that calls for spinach in the form of “green juice.’”
I couldn’t resist. I bought the brownie mix, the blueberries and the spinach. Imagine: Healthy brownies.
A few days later, my daughter called me at work.
“Mom, can I make the brownies I found in the cabinet?”
“No, Beth, I’m going to make that a different way. I’m adding blueberries to it.”
“Yuck! Why would you do that?”
“Blueberries are good for you. You won’t even know they’re there. Hey, I have another recipe where I can put spinach in.”
“Mommm! Gross. Can’t you just let me make the brownies?”
I glanced at my watch. I wouldn't be making brownies today, that's for sure. “Well, OK. But there are some walnuts in the cupboard. Add those in.”
And so, I didn’t get to try the sneaky recipes, but at least walnuts add protein. Next time I try to be sneaky, I’m not telling.
Comments
Good day!
Posted by: John | April 18, 2007 6:56 AM
Cooking and pureeing vegetables and fruits to trick children is not worth your time. I think "The Sneaky Chef" and Jessica Seinfeld are doing this because they are worried about their children attaining sufficient nutrition. But cooking the vegetables to the point where you can mush them up robs them of much of that nutrition -- vitamins and fiber, for instance. Seriously, does your child really not like just plain blueberries? And are you going to get all your veggies and fruits this way, too, or are you going to make totally separate meals for yourself versus your children? Sounds like more work than it's worth to me. Nutritionists say that it's more important to train children's palates to appreciate vegetables -- why not start getting them on that road now, rather than putting it off? I can almost guarantee you that you can prepare veggies in ways that adults and children find tasty -- in less time than it takes to cook, mush, and sneak.
Posted by: Dawn Biehler | November 14, 2007 1:36 PM